Page 67 of Perfect Satisfaction

I stroll around the store where I spot a pair of heels that perfectly match my dress for the Fair Harvard event. “I’m going to treat him like a roommate—like an annoying roommate.”

“A roommate you have to share a bed with?” JB proceeds to tell me how well he thinks that plan will go.

“I do have a suite of rooms I customized to retreat to. It’s not like I work normal hours.”

“Thank god your boss is a prick.”

“You’re not my boss,” I remind him for the umpteenth time before holding out the shoe and asking for it in size seven. “Thank you.”

“For what? Getting you into this predicament?”

“JB, you didn’t get me into anything. I could have said no.”

He scoffs. “Not bloody likely. Why couldn’t our attorney find a loophole? Why wouldn’t the arse you married simply be a greedy fuck?”

“Dear ole Dad. Nothing but the best, even while he was making our lives hell,” I murmur. After the salesperson unwraps the crystal encrusted shoes with the pencil thin heel, I walk around the store. I murmur, “Perfect.”

“Nothing about this situation is perfect, Sula!” JB shouts.

“I’m hanging up on you.”

“Why?”

“Because for a moment I need to feel happy before the life is sucked out of me and you’re not helping,” I tell him bluntly.

“Right.” At that, JB disconnects.

Seconds later, my phone rings and Brendan’s face appears. “What are you going to do about this motherfucker?”

With a sigh, I nod to the salesperson and begin the whole spiel again with my other brother.

I take the elevator to the penthouse in a Trifecta condominium complex I’ve been a visitor to many times before I moved in. I grumble at the naked foyer walls, “I hate he didn’t leave the artwork when he sold the place.” There used to be black-and-white photos in the foyer.

“Why, darling, hoping your lover left you a memento? Perhaps a token of his appreciation for watching the place for a year?” Arek drawls acidly.

I drop my house keys casually on the white marble countertop before trying to be cordial for a moment. “I was referring to Ward.”

“Ward? Ward Burke?” Arek spins around looking at the condo we’re going to be sharing with a different eye.

“Do you know another Ward who could afford this kind of real estate? For the record, Joshua doesn’t personally own this listing—Moore Software Worldwide does. I should know, I was part of the deal team two years ago.”

“Oh, and who owns MSW? Santa Claus?”

I roll my eyes before explaining, “It’s considered an executive listing for their top-tier personnel who need to reside in the city.”

Arek frowns. “I guess that makes sense for a company the size of MSW.”

“Thank you for green-lighting my business decisions—two years too late. Now, if you don’t mind, I already have my office established in the guest room at the far end of the hall. I’ve used that bedroom since Angie and Ward lived here before they moved into their new place. Since I plan on doing no more than lying on top of a mattress next to you, there’s no reason you can’t move into the master. It has the largest bed.”

Without waiting for him to move, I pick up my shopping bag—carrying it in the direction of the double doors of the guest suite. Arek calls out, “You got it, Ursula. That’s a fine idea. Why didn’t I think of that myself?”

I flick up my hand as I stride down the hall.

“You’re going to need more than just a pair of shoes to wear, wife,” he calls.

“Not a problem.” I think about the walk-in I have stuffed full—where the gown that matches these babies is currently hanging—in the room I’ve been living in since moving back to America. I think about my comfortable bed and frown. I hope the one JB had put in the master is the same type or I’ll be switching that out tomorrow—Arek’s preference be damned.

“What are you going to do? Have a new outfit delivered every day from your home? We’re supposed to be living here.”